ROLEX CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF CREATIVE EXCHANGE AT ROLEX ARTS FESTIVAL

A multigenerational community of renowned artists and arts professionals, linked through the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, is gathering with the Greek cultural world for the Rolex Arts Festival in Athens, to celebrate the achievements of 20 years of mentoring.

Dozens of legendary figures in music, theatre, dance, film, visual art, literature and architecture, will be joined by more than 50 outstanding artists, whom they have mentored in one-on-one creative collaborations over the past 20 years of the Rolex programme. Many of these mentors and protégés are participating in the festival in 17 public events − performances, readings, exhibitions, discussions and more − presented from 26–28 May at venues throughout the Greek capital.

A UNIQUE ARTS PROGRAMME

In its long-standing dedication to ensure that the world’s artistic heritage is passed on from generation to generation in a manner that transcends boundaries of nations, cultures and disciplines, the company created the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative in 2002. It is unique among corporate arts programmes in both scope and scale and reflects the fact that over more than 100 years, the company has passed its skills from one generation of watchmakers to the next, each receiving the combined knowledge of all who came before. 
The mentoring programme provides emerging artists with the opportunity to engage one-on-one with masters in their field for an extended period of time. Since it was established, 1,350 people from 120 countries have been nominated for the programme; while, to date, 63 artists have served as mentors and have chosen 63 protégés from 41countries. Rolex considers the development of this global creative community to be one of the greatest achievements of the programme.

The programme has a special place in the Rolex Perpetual Arts Initiative, through which the brand honours and supports an ever-increasing artistic community in a variety of disciplines. The initiative represents the company’s ongoing commitment to fostering culture and artistic excellence around the globe.